Faces
by Miss Mila
Summary: The many faces of Kate Beckett...according to one Rick Castle. Please read and review!


**Author's note: I finally got a chance to watch the first episode of "Castle". It was an amazing episode, and, a mon avis; there was a lot of Caskett. Which is what I'm writing now. Set after "Flowers for Your Grave". **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Castle characters (as hot as they may be), places (as awesome as New York is), themes, etc. No copyright infringement intended.**

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She was a remarkable woman. That much he got when he met her. And it was why he based his new character off her; he felt like he knew her after one day. Like he'd known her for a while.

The first day "on the job", and already he saw her mad. Seething mad. Once when he stole the file, or whatever it'd been, and once when he put himself in danger by going after the suspect and going out of safety. She'd been _worried. _

The same day, he saw her kick down a door, overpowered by pure adrenaline. Or maybe she just regularly kicked in doors…they both worked for him. He saw her chase after a subject, gun in hand, badge out. He saw her in her "cop mode", and he had to admit, he liked that. A lot.

He saw her being sarcastic (there was a lot of that…mostly directed at him), skeptical, and annoyed (another one of those 'directed at him' ones). When she looked at him…there were all kinds of emotions on her face. Annoyance was almost always one of them. But there was also a bit of gratitude, and maybe even happiness. He was always good at reading faces. It was a writer thing.

He'd known her one day, and already he'd seen her laugh, and smile. He'd seen her grateful and surprised when he gave her an advanced copy of his new book. And when he was with his family (shortly after jail, I believe), there was a sweet, almost reminiscent look on his face.

She had a cute, thoughtful look on her face when she was going through his fan mail to look for signs of the killer. A cute look where her forehead wrinkled and a pouty frown was on her lips.

He'd known her one day and already he'd seen her sad. _Really _upset. Once when the victims were found, and once when they were going through the mail and he asked why she became a cop.

He knew her for one day and already he had her partially figured out. Whenever he thought he had her _completely _figured out, she surprised him. He knew she was a cop because someone close to her had been affected by crime. Killed, most likely. He'd seen her on the verge of tears then. And he immediately dropped the subject because it was hurting her.

He got used to all these different looks of hers. He learned how to read them, understand them, and quickly. And that turned out to be a good idea.

It was late at night and Beckett was still at her desk, pouring over another case file. The file was old and worn, and he knew it was one she kept in her desk, not in the cabinet with the other files.

"Beckett?"

Detective Kate Beckett jumped at the sound of his voice. She slammed the file shut and turned toward him. "Castle! What are you doing here?" Her voice was stern, but her eyes betrayed her. They had the same look of sorrow and defeat he'd seen earlier. He sat down across from her. "Are you okay?" He asked, genuinely sincere.

She was taken aback by his sincerity. "I-I'm fine."

He supposed that in this job, especially as a woman, she had to cover up her feelings and put up a tough front. "Try the truth on for size." He said gently.

The tears threatened to fall as she shook her head. "That is the truth."

Castle nodded slowly; disbelievingly. "Alright. But if you ever want to talk, if you ever need anyone to listen, I'm here."

She closed her eyes and the tears spilled over.

"Kate?"

She traced the edge of the folder as the tears continued streaming down her face. "You were right. You're always right." She managed as she dropped her head in her hands.

Castle came over to her and put his arms around her.

She thought about struggling against him. She thought about it, she really did. But his arms were so strong and protective…when they were around her she felt like he was going to make it okay. And he smelled _so _good. So all those thoughts about struggling? They flew right out the window. Instead she leaned into him and _let _him hug her. It'd been a long time since anyone had hugged her like that.

He comforted her and didn't press her for answers. Just sat with her, not giving any false promises or any questions. He just held her, because sometimes that's all someone needed.

"Every day I think about that case. _Every _day."

Castle rested his cheek on her head. The fact that he'd just met this woman a few hours ago wasn't important. He _cared _about her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head and pressed against him. "I'm sorry. You've been so nice…you _deserve _answers…but I can't. I just can't."

He stroked her hair. "No, no, it's alright. Come on. Why don't you lock up that file and I'll take you home. We can go for coffee if you want."

She looked at the file and picked it up slowly. She held her head high and put it back in the basket that said, "Send to Cold Cases".

"Alright. Let's go." She said nodding and wiping her eyes.

He waited for her, as she got ready to leave with him. Just as he'd wait until she was ready to talk and let him in. He had no problem waiting.

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**Author's Note: The first episode was pretty sweet. I mean, it was amazing. I can't wait until season two, to see if the Caskett relationship will grow. So, I'm quite proud of this fic. Care to review?**


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